New Year's Eve

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!

Today is New Year's Eve. Time to ring out the old and ring in the new. Today we won't be staying up to bring in the new year but that's ok. What we did do was meet up with Bob & Glenda and their cousin, cousin-n-law, Carl & Ruthie. All of us went out to lunch to Golden Corral. There we got full and talked and just had a good time.

From there we headed to Wilderness Lodge to park and to take the small boat to the Contemporary Resort in order to take the monorail to the Polynesian & Grand Floridian Resorts to see the Christmas decorations. Once we got on the monorail, the first stop was the Polynesian Resort. Staff from the resort made some gingerbread houses which were very cool. Not many decorations up like I would have thought but there was a few decorated xmas trees around and some xmas wreaths hanging around. I took some pictures but still have to download them from my camera. That should be done in a few days. *S* We walked out side to look at the pool and decided to take the little boat over to the Grand Floridian. Bob was complaining that it was 'cold'. He didn't bring his jacket cause I said that we should be back to his rv by 5pm. Well, we weren't and he was really cold. In the Grand Floridian resort, we got to see the big Gingerbread house and some of the decorations that was set around. The balconies are decorated very nicely with garland. The Grand Floridian has a grand staircase that is beautifully decorated with garland.

From the Grand Floridian we took the monorail back to the monorail hub that is in front of the Magic Kingdom. Richard suggested getting off there and walking down to the boat ramp that will take us back to the Wilderness Lodge. The boat that would take us back to the lodge would be a boat with windows and that would keep Bob warm. *S* We got back to the lodge and headed out to head back to Bob & Glenda's rv.

When we arrived at Bob & Glenda's rv, they invited us inside to have a celebratory drink for the New Year. So 6 of us made a toast and drank our white grape sparkling juice. *yummy* We all talked and then we left cause we had to come home to our rv in order to get ready for bed cause we have to work tomorrow. We hugged and said see you guys in April and off we went home.

Richard and I had requested to work on New Year's Day so that when we come back to this area on Mar. 27, we will be able to get our main gate passes. So tomorrow we will be working 7 to 8 hours.

We hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day...

Visiting with the Farmers'

While Richard was Activities Director at Sunset King Rv Resort (SSK) from Oct. 2007 - Mar. 2008, he met Russ & Susan Farmer. He got to know them and has kept in touch with them when we left SSK. I couldn't remember who they were until they came down to the Orlando area to stay for the winter.

We got in touch with them when they arrived at their destination, Lake Magic Rv Resort (LM). LM is about 6 miles from Walt Disney World. We went to visit them at their place of residence and then I remembered who they were. Faces are worth a lot. After seeing them, I realized that I had met them when they were at SSK. Richard and I chatted with them for several hours. It was a nice catchup to see where they have been and what they have done.


We have gone in to Epcot and met them there or rode with them. We have stayed long enough to watch the holiday fireworks, which are awesome after the Illuminations fireworks. During the holidays, Disney puts on another set of fireworks after the main ones are done. All of us have also went to the Candlelight Processional to listen to the music of the choirs who are picked to sing from different schools and churches and organizations. The speaker for the show we went to was Steven "?" Chapman. I can not remember what the middle name was. It is always nice to see once each year when visiting Epcot during the Christmas season. We walked around and just enjoyed each other's company. Richard and I got an ice cream cone from the Outpost in Epcot and enjoyed watching people walk through the park. Women in heels..Men in suits..Some people are just to funny.


Russ & Susan have met us in Magic Kingdom, too. All of walked around the Kingdom and saw a few stage shows and a Belle Xmas Storytelling show. All was pretty cool. Then we got our pictures taken to the side of the "iced" castle. The "iced" castle is awesome looking. The lights on the castle are put on to a net and then the net is colored to match each part of the castle. About 6:30pm, the castle is lit up and the ohs and ahs just come out of everyone. It is a beautiful sight to see.







Monday, Dec. 29, we met Russ & Susan at CiCi's Pizza for lunch and to say our goodbyes. After we had our lunch, we all walked over to a gift shop for tourists. Thank goodness we are not "tourists". The junk that they have in that shop. Granted it's cheaper than what Disney sells things for but it's all cheaply made. But all in all, it's the thought that counts. I don't know when we will see them again but we wish them safe travels wherever they go and we hope to run in to them again on our travels.

Baltimore Ravens

What can I say, GO RAVENS!

I was born and raised in Baltimore. I didn't know much about football as I was growing up. I really didn't get to know football until the 80's. Before the mid 80's, Baltimore had the Baltimore Colts. I went to a game or 2 in the late 70's but don't remember much about it except that I was in the end zone freezing. But as time passed, I got more in to football in the mid 80's.

In the 80's I became a San Francisco 49'er fan. I don't know why but I just did. I don't remember back that far but I got hooked on Joe Montana. I was a 49er fan for a long time. Then Joe went to Kansas City. I was 49er/Chief fan until Montana retired. I tried to stay a Chiefs/49'ers fan for a while. Then Baltimore got a team in 1996. Granted we got our team who use to be the Cleveland Browns but our Colts went to Indianapolis. I got see the stadium being built down in the heart of Baltimore. Downtown Baltimore to be more specific. Finally, Baltimore got a team. The colors were great, purple and black. (purple is my favorite color). Now everyone knows that the Ravens name came from a contest and it fits the great city of Baltimore cause of Edgar Allen Poe. We even have mascots named Edgar, Allen & Poe, 3 Raven mascots numbered 101, 102 & 103.

The stadium is awesome and I was very fortunate enough to go to several games in late 90's, early 2000's, but before 2003. A friend of mine would let me have his tickets once in a while and once tickets were bought. It's just a great time to be there.

Now the Ravens only have one original Brown. That person is Matt Stover, #3. Over the years the Ravens have acquired some great talents. I can mention some like Ray Lewis #52, Terrell Suggs #55, Adalius Thomas who is now a Patriot, Kelly Gregg #97, retired Michael McCrary #99 and many others. The Ravens some more great talent over time like Ed Reed #20, Samari Rolle #22, Todd Heap #86 and this year, Rookie QB Joe Flacco #5.

This year the Ravens acquired a new Head Coach. His name is John Harbaugh. He has done a great job and as of this great job, we are in the Playoffs. Granted we do have some other great talents. They are Rex Ryan and Cam Cameron. The Playoffs begin and I hope we can go a long way. The first playoff game may be to Miami.

I've got some favorite players. Before he retired, there was Michael McCrary #99. Now there is Kelly Gregg #97. This year Kelly didn't play due to an injury so he has been out of the game for the whole season.

Joe Flacco, rookie qb, from Univ. of Delaware, has done a wonderful job for being a rookie. He stands there and looks and throws, when he can. There were things about him that reminded me of Joe Montana. One day they gave some stats on Joe Flacco and his favorite football player was Joe Montana. Can't get any better than that. *smile*

So lets' go Ravens...Make it all the way...Hopefully the Ravens will figure out a way to keep Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and Ed Reed whose contracts are at their end when the season is over. The Ravens would not be the same without them.

Blogs In No Particular Order

I have learned from a rv'ing couple of ours who has started their own blog on Blogger.com. They have shown us their blog and all that they have done. It is a easier and fun way to let family and friends know how we are doing and what we are doing and what we are thinking (well, that's Richard's area cause one never knows what he may be thinking). *S*

Since I am just starting my own blog, there is no way that I can start from the beginning of my journey when I met the love of my life, my best friend, my companion, & my soul mate. So since I started my blog about the middle of December, I have to start at this point and work on now blogs and past blogs. It will be very interesting how my blog will turn out.

So although I am blogging now, don't fret about me not mentioning my friends, family, fellow rv'ers and anyone else that we come across. Or anywhere that we go. Or things we may do.

Enjoy reading my blog. If you want to start a blog, go to http://www.blogger.com/ and it's so easy to do and it will let me follow where your travels are going, or what is going on in your life. It's a great way to keep in touch without really talking.

Richard has greated a blog as well. His blog space is http://rvkamping.blogspot.com/. He writes a lot more than me cause he has more time on his hands than I do. *laugh*

Have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day was fantastic...I woke up way before Richard did cause I was waiting to get online using the web cam to see the granddaughters. But that didn't come about cause as I was waiting for my daughter to call me or get online. By the time she called the girls' had already opened all their gifts. I was a little disappointed cause I really wanted to see them open gifts. But I did get to see the girls on the web cam a while later. They were so busy with their gifts from Santa and Uncle Josh.
Richard woke up and got settled in and I handed him his presents from Misti & Chad, Brandi, Robert & girls and me. Some of the gifts from me he already knew and vice a versa. We bought tees at WDW for each other and just put them away for Christmas. But there were a few things that Richard didn't know about. Some stocking stuffers and another tee. We opened up Chad & Misti's gift, it came from Sicily, and they bought us 2 magnets. One says Sicilia and the other says Cantania. Really cool gifts. We like our magnets. Then we opened up the box of gifts from Brandi, Robert & girls. They got us Dove chocolates, crossword puzzle books (for me), a wooden jewelry box that Brandi made when she was at Lakeridge RV Resort this past summer, 2007, Richard got a musical tie, which will be a decoration. We also got $25 each so I bought me a purple Mickey Mouse 3/4 sleeve tee and Richard bought him a Year of a Million Dreams zippered sweatshirt. All was fantastic and very thoughtful. I gave Richard his gifts from me and put my gifts on the couch. I got my camera and took several pictures. Richard got a Goofy xmas hat that has Goofy ears on the sides and it lights up. There is a jingle bell on top of the hat. We had a fantastic xmas. I had turned on the xmas lights in the rv and turned on the xmas tree by switching from the Off position to the On position. *S*

We got all cleaned up and got dressed and headed over to our friend's rv to give them their little gift. It wasn't much but I thought the gift was real cute when I saw it. We were suppose to head to the movies but we missed the first and second showing cause we stayed and talked and talked. By 2:45pm, we left to head to the movies for the 3:30pm showing of Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. But when we left and got on the road towards Downtown Disney, we both said we were hungry. We wanted to go to Chili's. They were closed. So we got back on the Interstate and headed towards US Hwy. 192 where the Red Lobster was. Nope, closed. OK. Now we had to make a decision. Go to Angel's Seafood Buffet, All You Can Eat, or go to Golden Corral. Golden Corral was cheaper. The food was excellent. We were full by the time we got done eating and waiter was fantastic. We headed out and decided to head home. I was so tired. We got home and I went to sleep. The night before I didn't get much sleep so it hit me. I slept for a little while. We were suppose to go back over to our friend's rv to visit but I just couldn't stay awake. So I slept for a little bit. I felt much better when I woke up. However, I did miss a call from our daughter who is over in Sicily. The rest of the evening we watched tv.

This is our decorated table in the living room and in the background is our little Christmas tree.

Christmas was wonderful. But I was a bit sad cause I missed my kids and grandkids.

Almost all of the xmas decorations are put away. I put them away yesterday, 12-2-08. I've never been one to keep decorations for days after xmas. I have the little tree still out and our xmas frog. In a few days they will be put away.

Merry Christmas to all. Happy New Year too!

Christmas 2008

This Christmas we are spending it in the Walt Disney World (WDW) area. We have stayed at Thousand Trails (TT) & Deer Creek (DC). We have just moved from TT to DC yesterday, Dec. 23. The past week we have been visiting the Disney parks, Magic Kingdom & Epcot. Both parks have wonderful xmas fireworks. It is tough to choose between which one is better than the other. We got to see the xmas parade that had begun on Dec. 20 at Magic Kingdom (MK). It was so good. We went in with our friends, Bob & Glenda, on Dec. 21. We saw 3 shows at the MK stage in front of the castle. We didn't get to ride any rides cause of the many people that have come to WDW for the holiday season. Epcot was busy tonight. We met up with our friends, Russ & Susan, at the Americana section of Epcot. We stood in line to wait to get in to see the Candlelight Processional. But before they got there, Richard and I walked from France over to the Outpost to get an ice cream cone and sit down to watch people, which is really fun. About 6pm, we met up with Russ & Susan in the line up for the show. Luckily we were able to get in for the 6:45pm showing cause the line was really long. The guest speaker was Steven Curtis Chapman. The show was really good and the singers were awesome. After the show, we stood around and talked. Finally we walked around toward the front of the Showcase to find a spot to watch the fireworks. The xmas fireworks were awesome. After the fireworks, we were heading in the opposite direction towards the back of the park cause we had parked at the Beach Club Resort and had to walk back to the resort area. It was like salmon swimming up stream. Russ & Susan was walking the same way cause they parked at the Boardwalk. We said our good byes and we all headed home. It was a great evening and we didn't even buy any merchandise, just some ice cream and later on, some mcd's fries.
It is almost Christmas. It is 11:36pm and very soon it will be Christmas. Tonight I got a bit tearful during the fireworks cause it's xmas eve and I miss my kids and grandbabies.
To every one, Merry Christmas!

Talking about Family

When Richard and I met, he had no kids or family. I have 3 kids - Joshua, Brianna and Misti. He didn't realize that he would inherit them along with my mom and uncle. At the time in 1999, Joshua lived in Iowa, Brandi lived in Maryland with her grandmother and me and Misti lived in West Virginia with her dad. The kids definitely approved of my new love interest which was wonderful. Even my mom liked him right from the start.

In 1998, Joshua and his then wife, had a little girl who was named Corinne. But after a time, life with then wife and daughter was no more. Hardships for Josh came and he moved to Mississippi to get a job. Joshua has been through a the Katrina hurricane and lost a lot of his stuff in his apartment to that hurricane. After the hurricane he was able to get a new car. He moved to Maryland and got an apartment and an IT job. He is now with a wonderful person, Sandy. Life is better for him and I am happy for him. The only thing is that he is a Cowboys fan.

Brandi is married to Robert and they have 3 kids - Kayla, Brianna &

Elizabeth. They live in West Virginia. She works for the government and loves her job. Robert is a Cowboys fan & Brandi is a Ravens fan. Right now I don't have a recent picture of Robert & Brandi. Misti is married to Chad and they are living in Sicily for Chad's tour of duty with the navy. They will be there until Oct. 2010. They are expecting their first child (and I hope for a boy).

The grandgirls are from left to right with Santa, Kayla, Elizabeth and Brianna. This picture was taken around Dec. 13, 2008 The picture of Chad & Misti was taken in 2007. The picture of my mom & uncle was taken in 2003. The picture of Josh was taken in 2007. The picture of Brandi was taken mid December, 2008. Trying to remember dates of the pictures is a bit tough to do.

We love our granddaughters so much and we miss them very much. We are hoping that our next grandchild is a boy but if it's not, then another girl will be great. We love and miss our kids too along with my mom & uncle.

My mom and uncle live in Maryland. My mom & uncle live in a trailer park in a double wide trailer which is very nice. They also have a little black pooch and at this moment, I don't remember the pooch's name.

Richard thought that he didn't have any relatives left but just before we left Maryland in 2003, a cousin that he had not heard from in years, and I do mean years, called him. He was very surprised. We got together many times but until the past few years, keeping in touch has been very minimal. So I guess you can say that he don't have any relatives on his side of the family.

At this time in our life, we do not speak of another granddaughter cause we can not keep in contact with her by any means. That is her mother's wishes. But her name is Cory and she turned 10 years old this past Sept. 2008. In time we hope that she will want to find out about her father and her father's side of the family. It would be great to get to know Cory after she is of age and can find us on her own.

This is Cory when she was a young tot. This is Cory in 2005 holding her cousin, Brianna. I got this picture from her Aunt Brandi. This is Cory in July 2006. This was the one and only time that I got to "see" her. I really didn't have any interaction with her since she didn't know who I was. Her grandfather on her dad's side had her visit West Virginia for a week in the summer time.

Campground Memberships

In order to have a place to go to while rving, we decided to have a few memberships to campgrounds so that we can plan a year in advance on where we are going to be and know that we will be able to stay for our 2 weeks at a time. Richard already had an Outdoor World membership so we could go up to Lancaster, PA and to Dover, PA. We could also visit other Outdoor World (ODW) campgrounds up and down the East Coast. Richard had a Coast to Coast membership which let us stay in Myrtle Beach, SC. In 2006 we bought a deeded lot membership down in Davenport, FL and in 2007, we bought a Thousand Trails (TT) membership in Clermont, FL. ODW campgrounds have allowed us to make some near and dear friends and have let us meet other fellow campers. We would travel between ODW Gettysburg Farm and ODW Circle M, which is about 40 miles apart. We would travel between the both of these resorts during the summer time. It would allow us to visit family down in Maryland and visit our family doctors. In 2004 we bypassed a rv resort in the panhandle of Florida, Sunset King Rv Resort, while on our way to Texas. We liked it so much that on our way back from Texas we stopped by this resort and actually bought a membership. It is strickly a membership resort and we have met some of the best rvers there. It actually became a second home. Rvers from all over the US came down during the winter season. Some full time rvers don't plan where they are going or where they are going to stay but we like to plan and know where we are going to be. On Dec. 31, 2007 we gave up our ODW membership because down in the Clermont area (Walt Disney World), ODW didn't know what was going on or where their campground was going to be. Being that we are here for several months while we work for Disney, we couldn't afford to travel too far away from the Disney area. Now we just have TT and Deer Creek memberships which work out for us. We don't plan on driving all the way to Pennsylvania for a long time, gas prices.

Anyway, memberships is a great way to make sure that you have a place to go. Most memberships work as 2 weeks in and 1 week out. So while down in Florida, Disney area, we travel 14 miles between TT and Deer Creek every 2 weeks.

While visiting all these resorts, we have meet lots of cool people. Bob and Glenda, Bob and Rosie, Bob and Donna, Russ and Susan, Bob and Linda, Lois and Doug. There are so many names associated with Sunset King that I can not name all of them but all of you are recognized and loved. Bob and Glenda are our on the road "mom and dad". Bob and Donna are around our age, which is nice, and are from around the Dundalk area, where we both grew up. Bob and Rosie we met through Bob and Donna and Bob and Glenda.

There is another campground called Big Water Rv Resort in SC along I-95 just above Lake Marion. It is a very nice campground but it is a membership resort but if you belong to Coast to Coast, then you can stay in there for 2 weeks. We have stayed there several times on our trip from Florida to Pennsylvania and back to Florida again.

Myrtle Beach, SC

What can I say! Myrtle Beach is the place. I love it there. My hubby, Richard, took me there for the very first time in 2000 and I have loved it since then. That's when I knew I would love to go Rving for a long time. Myrtle Beach (MB) has so many places to go, so many store, so many beaches and quite a few Walmarts. Walmarts are a Rvers friend. We went to Broadway on the Beach which is awesome. Hard Rock cafe is there. Planet Hollywood is across the street. Margaritaville is within Broadway at the Beach and is a great place to visit. We went to shows and shops. We even took a boat to an island to collect shells. That was lots of fun but chilly. In 2002, I think, I went to SC to visit a sick friend. After I got her on her feet, we went to Myrtle Beach and had a blast. We even went in her Mustang. "whoo hoo". I had a tee shirt made for Richard. I think we went there for the day. Richard and I went back to MB in 2004. It will be 4 years since we have been to MB and in April 2009, we are going back there. In MB there are a few places that have all you can eat seafood. The only place we go is called Benjamins. Very good food and crab legs. In April 2009, we will be taking our granddaughter, Kayla, to MB with us and we know that she will have a blast. Below is one of our favorite places to park our rv while in MB, it is called Briarcliffe.

Workamping in North Carolina 2003

We have learned about workamping and how much it doesn't pay to workamp. Workamping is working for a campground. With this you get your site and utilities for free and possibly a little bit of pay. What we got on our first and only time of workamping was a stay for 3 months with no pay. We left Maryland and headed to Jacksonville, NC. Our youngest daughter, Misti, lived there. There was a campground there but it wasn't much. A few sites and not much of an office/store but we needed some place to start getting our rv together since we left Maryland with a bunch of boxes in our rv. This also gave us time to visit with our daughter and to give her some furniture out of our rv. We also learned about fire ants. Stay away from them, they bite and they liked me. Fire ant bites can itch for months. During the 3 months of our stay in NC we were able to get our rv in order, decide on where things were going to go, how to make them permanent so that packing and repacking wasn't the answer for all our moves. We visited beaches and collected shells. We had a grand time in Jacksonville, NC. We learned that making $1.50 per hour wasn't worth workamping for and we have not workamped since.

Beginning our Travels

On Sept. 15, 2003, Richard and I started our life together out on the road...We had our brand new King of the Road, 40 foot fifth wheel behind our brand new GMC5500 truck...Our travels have begun...

Let me tell you how this happened...Richard had worked for Safeway Food Stores 30 years...After 30 years he could retire and get a 30 year pension...I had worked for a Civil Engineering firm and gave my 2 weeks notice of leaving...He has been planning for years to sell his house and buy an recreational vehicle (rv) and he either was going to do it alone or with someone who wanted to do the same thing...Luckily for me, when I first met him, I wanted to do it to...The only ties I had to Maryland was the eldest daughter, Brandi, my mom and my uncle...My eldest, Josh, lived in another state...My youngest daughter, Misti, had lived in another state...There were no grandkids and no ties to a house...I was excited to travel..So we made a good match for this dream...

Our first day out, we almost lost our rv to the bed of our truck...What we didn't know was that we must cover our hitch and always hear a huge loud clunk...Always...We were heading to my girlfriend's, Mechelle, house, who has a long driveway on the side of her house, because a big storm was coming up the Chesapeake Bay...and our travels began a few days after the storm came and passed.